Conventions #1

Many of those who attended “The British Film Collectors Convention”, at any of it’s many venues, or made their way to “Widex” or perhaps even Derann’s own “Northern Film Collectors Convention”, must think we probably just loaded our van, made our way to the site of said show, put the films on a table, watched the money  roll in and then sped our way home…end of story!

I wish that was all there was to it. In reality there was always much preparation beforehand and depending on the show, sometimes this would begin months in advance. If it was a ‘BFCC’, ‘Widex’, a ‘Film Fun Day’, ‘The Wessex Film Collectors Convention’ or the like we would begin at least ten weeks before by checking the shelves for stocks of film and order any titles that might be low, and generally make sure that there would be good stocks of new and popular titles. This might seem a little early, but remember they had to be printed at the labs, then striped, sounded and split before they could be boxed ready for sale. We would also check on the accessories, lamps, splicers and tape and all the many odds and ends that sold so well at conventions, they could often be out of stock at our regular suppliers and we would have to ring around to find stocks. Steve Wellings was always checking the 16mm prints for his lists and would start to build up a supply for the upcoming show. Around seven days before the event we would then start to crate up the film stock, accessories, 16mm and bring down the shelving and other extras that might be necessary to display the product. Anne would make sure that we had the float, with plenty of change and Dave Worrall (later it would be Steve Wellings), would make sure we had the many price cards required and leaflets we would hand out. A last minute check was made for customer orders and then the evening before the show we would load the van. On our return, around 9pm, we unload and then make our way home, knowing full well that the next day would be a full day of returning the stock to the shelves and putting away the display units for future use!